


Proud of You, Kiddo

by YaGirlJuniper



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Mentors, Multiplicity/Plurality, Platonic Relationships, Secret Santa, Sumireko is Plural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaGirlJuniper/pseuds/YaGirlJuniper
Summary: Sumireko bumps into Mokou in the Human Village during the days leading up to Christmas and they have a heartwarming conversation full of well-intentioned confusion, in which Sumireko talks in pure Gen Z slang and Mokou is desperately trying to understand her and learn her mysterious ways. With some success!
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Proud of You, Kiddo

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for Mollyyncy for the Grassroots Youkai Network Secret Santa

Sumireko smiled brightly as she strolled through the Human Village, head bobbing side to side, the only outward sign of the beat to which she rocked was an almost imperceptible hiss coming from her Bluetooth earbuds. All around, the trimmings of Christmas adorned her surroundings. Sumi swung her arms as she strode with a cheery spring in her step, humming to the music that only she could hear. People here were used to her by now, so once they saw who was humming they all went back to their business.

All except one.

And with her earbuds in, she didn’t hear the crunching of their red boots in the snow as they approached.

Left and right Sumi turned, every shop and home even more breathtaking up close. “Oh my _gorsh_ this is so cute I’m gonna die.”

She felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her face went cold as she gasped. Her thoughts grew frightened. _Oh no it’s happening. Not again, not again!_

All of a sudden she hardened with bravery and her thoughts sounded different. _I got this, don’t worry._ A second later, a much more villainous voice decreed, _Out of my way, fools, I’m taking the lead here,_ and her face flashed into a sneer. “Hnh.”

Sumi whirled around and she flourished her cape, and with her fingers spread and at the ready she boomed, “WHO DARES APPROACH THE GREAT AND MIGHTY SUMI—”

She looked, but saw no one.

Her breath went still. She began to visibly tremble. _Not again. Not again._

The brave voice returned. _It’s okay. Don’t panic. Just take out your earbuds, it’s probably nothing._ She listened and plucked out her earbuds, and heard it at last. A familiar voice coming just from below.

“Yoo hoo~”

 _See what I mean? You’re fine._ Sumi calmed. Her inner monologue changed again, full once more of childlike wonder. _Forgot how tall I was._

_It’s okay, you’re doing great. Now have fun, kiddo._

A smile began to break as she looked down and there was Mokou, smiling and waving at her. She dropped her earbuds to the ground. **_“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”_** Everyone in earshot turned and looked. **_“MOKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!”_** Sumi danced in a circle and flung her arms around Mokou and the villagers laughed and returned to their business. “ ** _OH MY GOSH IT’S BEEN FOREVER I’M LOSING MY MIIIIIIIIIND!”_**

Patting her on the back, Mokou rasped with laughter. “Hahaha! How ya doin’ kiddo?” She felt her feet leave the ground. “D’waaah—!”

Sumireko picked Mokou up and swung her around as she twirled. **_“I’M SO GOOOOOD, MERRY CHRISTMAAAS!”_** She put Mokou down and Mokou dizzily staggered with a hand on her head. “Sorry.” Sumi winced, arms huddled at her chest. “I love you, no romo.” She weakly smiled and waved.

Mokou shook off her dizziness and chuckled. “Uhh… ‘no romo?’”

Sumi happily whipped out a finger. “Platonically!”

Mokou slowly nodded, mouth ajar and eyes hunting, not connecting the dots.

“Not Romantically!”

Mokou firmly nodded with a smile. “Got it!”

Sumi opened her hand and her earbuds flew off the ground and into it. “Sorry if I didn’t hear you sooner, I was listening to Christmas music.” She waved them then stuffed them into her pocket. “I know it’s cringe, but y’know what, I found this homemade Japanese cover of Winter Wonderland on YouTube so I ripped it and decided ‘why don’t I listen to Winter Wonderland in the Eastern Wonderland in Winter?’ So I did and it was so poggers I almost wet myself /j.”

Mokou’s pointer drew a confused circle at Sumireko. “See, I think I get ‘cringe’, and I think I know that ‘poggers’ is something good, but… uh…” she tilted her head, “slash-j?”

Sumi excitedly bounced. “So! Cringe is something so embarrassing it makes everybody cringe. /j is a Tone Indicator that shows you’re joking, and some people need Tone Indicators online cuz tone doesn’t travel through text, and neurodivergent peeps have trouble with that anyway so we’re normalizing it for them.”

Mokou flatly nodded along. “Uh-huh…”

“Now Poggers,” Sumi pushed her hands forward, “taking a step back for a second, on Twitch.tv there’s this emoji of a guy’s face going,” she turned and made a face full of open-mouthed elation, “and to make that face yourself in chat you have to type PogChamp, and on the BetterTTV extension there’s a Pepe version of that called Poggers, so if somebody does something exciting, everybody starts Pogging in chat as a reaction, so saying Pog is kinda like making that face without making it.”

“Uh-huh.” Mokou half-smiled. “I know some of these words.”

Sumireko gasped, then delightedly clasped her hands and squealed, “YOU REMEMBERED THE MEME I TAUGHT YOU~!”

Mokou brightly smiled. “Yeah! Did I get it right!?”

 ** _“YOU DID I’M POGGING OUT OF MY MIND AAAAAAAAAAAAAARH!_** ” Sumi throatily roared, hopping in place and bobbing her fists.

Mokou beamed at her and happily laughed, and the villagers watching all did too. Mokou warmly nodded. “I missed you too, kiddo.”

“Ohhhh~ I’m gonna cry…” Sumi’s eyes began to water and she turned away and looked at the ground.

Mokou pat her on the back and bent down to meet her gaze. “Honestly, kid? You filled my life with a happiness I didn’t think I’d ever get back again. I’m not depressed anymore. I think I’m gonna be okay.” She pointed. “ _You_ did that. You ought to be proud. I know I am.”

Sumi hugged her tight and whimpered, “back at you… every last one of you…”

Mokou nodded and tenderly smiled. “We’re so blessed to have you as a friend, Sumireko.”

Sumireko sniffled hard, and as her eyes opened she spotted the bag dangling from Mokou’s hand and a smile broke through her tears. She wiped her eyes. “You get your Christmas shopping done just now?”

“Yup.” Mokou proudly slung it over her shoulder. “You should swing by Keine’s place and celebrate with us.”

Sumireko pumped both her fists. “I promise I will! On Christmas Eve, I’m gonna swing by Reimers’ place to visit her and Mors and then I’ll come right over!”

Mokou winced, and air hissed in past her teeth. “Don’t go to their house on the 24th.”

Sumi’s happiness washed away at once. “Why, what’s wrong?”

Mokou weakly smiled. “Technically nothing yet, but… _those_ two idiots—”

Sumi pouted. “Aw Mokou, don’t say that, that’s so ableist.”

Mokou raised her eyebrows and stared for a beat, then shook her head with a question, “I don’t know what that means, is that cringe?”

Sumi nodded disapprovingly with her hands on her hips. “Very cringe, Not Based.” She pointed a finger. “We say Clowns now, that’s Based and Breadpilled.”

Mokou jolted aback, shaking her head and blinking wide as she stared at her in bewildered shock, then after a moment she nodded. “Yeah, that fits. _Those_ two clowns—”

Sumi pumped both fists together. “Yesss!”

Mokou smiled and continued, “—are definitely putting things off until the last possible second and then won’t have something ready on the 23rd.”

“Oh—”

“Then they’ll decide they want to make something personal,” Mokou continued, tracing the air with her finger, “vastly underestimate how long _that’s_ gonna take, realize there’s no time left by the 24th, and now the stores are closed and everybody who could have helped them is busy because they’re either throwing or attending somebody’s Christmas Party somewhere.”

Sumi’s eyes shifted. “This seems oddly specific and detailed.”

Mokou tiredly frowned. “They’re like this kiddo, trust me.” She pulled her finger back and thrust it. “And it is about _this_ time they’ll remember they had planned to attend the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s Christmas Party together, but now they’re both gonna no-show and hide at home because they can’t face each other and admit they didn’t get each other a present for Christmas.”

Sumi’s teeth and eyes clenched together. “Oof, oof, massive _oof!”_ She took off her glasses and pressed the pads of her palms against her eyes. “Aaaah.”

“But of course, before they can get settled in for a night of drinking themselves to sleep, an Incident will cross their path and they’ll spend the night working to fix it, bump into each other doing that, accusingly ask each other why they’re not at the Christmas Party and then they’ll both feel too guilty to keep the secret any longer and come clean and cry with each other.”

Sumi sucked air through her teeth. “That’s so cringe I’m gonna turn inside-out.”

“And guess what? Today’s the 23rd.”

Sumireko slowly turned away from her hands to Mokou, gawking. “…OF DECEMBER!?”

Mokou nodded. “Yup. That means it’s already started, and they’re gonna be on edge, especially Reimu, who will definitely be having meltdowns.”

Sumireko straightened out and stared into space with her mouth wide open. _Where did November go…_

Mokou nodded but rolled her eyes too. “Reimu doesn’t mean it, she can’t help it, but _since she can’t help it,_ she is definitely going to be like this,” Mokou wagged her finger, “so for the next few days, batten down the hatches and keep your head down. She’d want that of you too. She’d get real upset if she hurt you or your feelings.”

Sumi smiled and looked at her, sliding her glasses back on. “But cap’n, I _already_ battened ‘em down.”

Mokou winked and gave her a firm pat on the back. “Then batten ‘em down again, we’ll teach those hatches.”

The two of them giggled like schoolchildren at a reference that only the two of them got.

Mokou spread her arms. “Celebrate with them on the 25th! They’ll be fine by then. Tomorrow, come visit us,” she said as she tossed a hand over her shoulder to beckon.

Sumi nodded. “Okay.”

Mokou shook her head with a weary smile. “Lucky for them they’re both such idiots that they’re perfect for each other.”

“Cringe,” Sumi announced as she cringed.

“Clowns!” Mokou bolted upright, then slouched again. “Sorry, I’m old.”

Sumi smiled and shook her head. “You’re not old, Mokou!”

Mokou plopped a hand on Sumi’s shoulder. “Oh yes I am. I am prehistoric, and one of these days I will literally be older than the universe.”

Sumireko shrugged. “Well yeah, but you’re not a Boomer though.”

Mokou pointed. “That’s true! That is true. I’m—” she took a deep breath and turned away, “—so old I remember when the Boomers were _born.”_

Sumi firmly plopped her fists on her hips. “And you’re still cooler than all of them put together, so what’s _their_ excuse?”

Mokou slapped her own legs. “DAMN, KID! AT LEAST LET ‘EM DIE OF OLD AGE, NO NEED FOR MURDER!”

The two of them laughed and laughed as the sun began to set. Another day soon over. Two days to Christmas, soon just would be one.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be part of a much larger story, coming soon: The Secret Santa - Two Days to Christmas. Stay tuned!


End file.
